Charles Polevich at the Nassau County Courthouse in Mineola, New York, for sentencing on Wednesday. Polevich, the driver in a hit-and-run collision that killed artist Nicki Minaj’s father last year, received a one-year prison term. caption Howard Schnapp/AP
switch to caption Howard Schnapp/AP
Charles Polevich, the driver in a hit-and-run collision that killed the father of rapper Nicki Minaj last year, was given a year in prison on Wednesday in the Nassau County Courthouse in Mineola, New York.
MINEOLA, N.Y.: Howard Schnapp/AP In accordance with a promise the judge made when the guy pleaded guilty in May, the driver of a hit-and-run incident that killed the father of musician Nicki Minaj last year was given a year in prison on Wednesday.
Charles Polevich was sentenced to a $5,000 fine and a six-month suspension of his driver’s license after entering a guilty plea to leaving the scene of the accident that killed Robert Maraj on Long Island in New York and tampering with evidence.
Marc Gann, Polevich’s attorney, speculated that his client might have been experiencing a medical problem at the time of the collision and may not have been completely aware of what had transpired when he fled.
In court, Polevich, 72, claimed that his behavior had “no explanation” and that he had “been heartsick since understanding the enormity of the disaster.”
According to Newsday, Carol Maraj, the late Maraj’s widow, claimed in court that Polevich had abandoned her husband “like a dog on the street” and that sparing him a longer prison term was a “slap in the face for the family.”
Maraj, 64, was attacked by Polevich in February 2021 while he was strolling along Roslyn Road in Mineola. Polevich momentarily stopped to ask Maraj if he was OK but didn’t call for assistance, according to the prosecution.
Instead, according to the prosecution, Polevich returned home, placed the 1992 Volvo station vehicle in his garage, and covered it with a tarp. Maraj was transferred to a hospital where the next day he was declared dead.
When Polevich pled guilty in May, Nassau County Judge Howard Sturim stated that he would receive “no more than one year in jail.” Prosecutors had requested a sentence of one to three years in prison.
According to Brendan Brosh, a district attorney’s office representative for Nassau County, “considering the seriousness of the defendant’s actions,” authorities believed a harsher sentence was appropriate.
The family of Robert Maraj continues to receive our sympathies, Brosh added.
Gann requested a 90-day prison term, stating that Maraj’s medical state, the road construction, the malfunctioning street lights, and other events outside of Polevich’s control contributed to the collision.
Carol Maraj, the widow of Maraj, is suing Polevich for the collision.
A few days after the collision, Polevich—who owns a drilling and water purifying firm out of Guam and Long Island—turned himself in to authorities.
According to detectives, they followed the Volvo involved in the collision to Polevich’s Mineola house using security footage.
The platinum-selling, Grammy-nominated rapper Nicki Minaj, who is responsible for the hits “Anaconda,” “Super Bass,” and other songs, was born Onika Tanya Maraj in Trinidad and grew up in Queens.
Minaj, 39, referred to the passing of her father as “the most terrible loss of my life” in a blog post on her website.
